USA Soccer World Cup Profile: Defender John Brooks

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - JUNE 19: John Brooks of the United States works out during training at Sao Paulo FC on June 19, 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

John Brooks of the United States (credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Position

John Brooks is a 21-year-old American player who is currently playing for German club team Hertha BSC and for the United States Men’s National Team. Brooks plays defender for both teams. His most impressive characteristic is the fact that he has great speed for being 6’4”.

John Brooks has no experience in the World Cup stage. He is part of the USMNT buildup that Coach Jurgen Klinsmann started when the German coach took the job as head coach of the US national team.

The World Cup in Brazil is Brooks’ first cup. However, the defender has plenty of experience internationally. He has participated in the US U-20 and U-23 teams. Brooks also has German experience under his belt from when he was part of the Germany U-20 a couple of years ago. Brooks was actually born and raised in Berlin, but holds US citizenship through his father who is a serviceman from Chicago.

Brooks made his debut with the USMNT in July of 2013 when he was called up to play against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The US won that game 4-3.

Club Experience

John Brooks has only played for one club so far in his soccer career. He actually came up through his hometown club Hertha BSC in Berlin. He managed to play for the German club team’s reserves in 2010-2011 seasons. He made such a good impression on the club that he was offered a four-year contract with the team. Brooks stayed with his hometown team, Hertha, despite the fact of getting an offer from German elite team Bayern Munich.

US defender John Brooks (L) celebrates after scoring during a Group G football match between Ghana and US (credit: JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images)

Latest

The latest news with John Brooks is that he scored in the USMNT World Cup opener against Ghana. The US was tied with Ghana during the opener played on Monday afternoon. Brooks subbed into the game during halftime for Matt Besler and managed to score the victory goal for the US in the waning moments of the game.

The victory goal that Brooks made broke the curse that the US had with Ghana who had eliminated the American team in the last two World Cups. The goal was so great that many soccer bloggers considered John Brooks as great of an American as Abraham Lincoln. This was said as a joke due to the fact that Brooks grew up in Germany. Despite the joke, Brooks was the hero of the game in the opening match of this World Cup for the United States.

J.L. Herrera is a huge fan of football and has been following the Raiders since the 1980s during the LA era. J.L. is also a freelance writer and copywriter on the web. He taught English for a little more than a decade in Los Angeles at the secondary level. While writing for web based news outlets, J.L. enjoys reading, creative writing, and watching sports. His work can be found on Examiner.com.